


Fallen - A Star Wars Story

by Jacobdflores



Series: The Flesio Series [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A-Wings, Alternate Canon, Black Squad, Blue Squad, Briefing, Brotherhood, Combat, Death Star, Emotional, Escort, Explosions, First Order, Flying, Gen, Genocide, Hatred, Lightspeed - Freeform, Millennium Falcon - Freeform, Passion, Pilots, Planet D'Qar, Planet Destruction, Planet Takodana, Pre-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Resistance, Revenge, Space Battles, Starkiller Base, TIE fighters, Trench Run, War, X-Wings, hyperspace, schemes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-09-24 13:03:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17101094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacobdflores/pseuds/Jacobdflores





	1. Chapter 1

The news of his brother's death didn't bide well with Jaycob Flesio. He tried to fall asleep in his bunk but was unsuccessful as his wrist-mounted computer pinged. It was Poe.

"We got a situation, I need you in the meeting room now."

Seeing no other choice, Jaycob suited up in his normal fatigues and exited his dorm to face the music. The first thing he saw was Jessika, who was also in a fresh change of clothes, waiting for him by his door.

"Hey, Hotshot."

She said jubilantly, trying to cheer him up. The attempt failed, Jaycob seeing it as "too soon" to even think about being happy.

"Jess."

He responded coldly, brushing past her and walking toward the conference room. Jessika, being the persistent person she always is, chased after him.

"Are you going to the meeting?"

She asked, pointing to her comlink, signifying that she was going as well. Keeping a brisk pace, Jaycob just nodded his head.

"Ok good. Seems kinda weird Dameron is holding a meeting just hours after we rescued him. Don't you think?"

Jaycob nodded his head again.

"What do you think it's about?"

Jaycob shrugged. Jessika stopped him in front of the door, holding both of his arms at his side, and sighed.

"Ok Jaycob? What did I say earlier? You need to keep your emotions in check, especially in there. We can’t have Blue Leader’s mind clouded right now."

Jaycob stared down at his arms, showing that he wanted her to let him go. She obliged. Then he looked back up and said,

"Jess, I love you, but you need to let me handle this myself."

Followed by a fake, forced smile. He slid right past her once more and proceeded into the meeting room, where Poe, General Organa, and many other Resistance officers were already talking.

"Nice of you to come by commander."

The general greeted. Jaycob nodded and approached the holotable everyone was gathered around.

"Ok, lay it on me."

He said.

"Well..."

Poe began,

"...as you might already know, I gave the map to BB-8 for safekeeping."

"Mmhm."

"Well, one of our informant's have contacted us saying that they found him."

"Alright, where is he?"

"In the Western Reaches, Takodana to be exact."

"Great! Sounds like you've got everything you need, why call me?"

"Well, you are going with us to retrieve my droid right? We could really use Blue Squad out there."

Jaycob crossed his arms and contemplated. He really wasn't in the correct mental state to take on a mission like this, but he agreed nonetheless.

"I guess so. What's our objective?"

Poe looked worriedly at his troubled teammate.

"Listen, Jaycob, I understand that you're under a lot of pressure. I can just have Jess-"

" _I_ got it. What is my squad's objective?"

Jaycob snapped. Poe and the general exchanged glances.

"The general is coming with us for this one, so all we're asking you to do is a simple escort mission. Can you do that?"

Jaycob uncrossed his arms and stormed out of the room.

"Consider it done!"

But before he could walk out of the door to make his dramatic exit, the members of the meeting gasped, peaking Jaycob's interest. He high-tailed it backwards and approached the table yet again. A live feed of the _Hosnian_ system exploding, as several different streams of light hit each individual planet. Millions of lives, gone in a matter of seconds, all in front of Jaycob's eyes. He was left speechless, his mouth hanging open in pure shock. The First Order had finally done it.


	2. Chapter 2

Jaycob didn't have time to eat, sleep, or even use the bathroom after the meeting since prior to it's dismissal, the  _Wheels Up_ order was given over the intercom. Engineers, techs, and pilots scurried around for their last minute necessities and headed out to the landing platforms. The Resistance contact who initially revealed the location of BB-8 also told them that the First Order had beat them to it and had already established ground and air superiority around the target zone. The plan wasn't too complex; Poe's Black Squad would proceed on a frontal assault on the target zone, taking down both TIE's in the air and Stormtroopers on the ground. On the other hand, Jaycob's Blue Squad would hang back and protect three high-valued transports while they landed on site. The _Battle of Takodana_ was ready to begin.

"Jay, stay cool out there alright?"

Jessika's voice came in through Jaycob's comms.

"Jess, don't worry about me. I'm ready."

Unfortunately, Jessika was assigned to Poe's squad instead of his, since she really loved her X-Wing. The squads were split up only because of starfighter variant: Black's get X-Wings, Blue's get A-Wings, simple as that. Jaycob pulled up his squadron roster on his flight computer and commanded a roll call.

"Blues, report in."

He stated.

"Blue 2 standing by."

"Blue 3 standing by."

"Blue 4."

"Blue 5 here."

"Blue 6 copies."

"Blue 7 standin' by."

"Blue 8's here."

"Blue 9 copies."

"Blue 10 standing by."

"Blue 11, all good to go."

Jaycob nodded his head as everyone was accounted for.

"Perfect. Black Leader this is Blue. Blue Squad is ready and able."

"Sounds good buddy, we'll see you on Takodana."

Poe replied, somewhat happily.

Poe and his Black Squadron initiated their hyperspace sequence and took off, leaving Blue Squad a little outside of D'Qar's atmosphere, waiting for the general and her transport party to get into position.

"This is Blue Leader to Transport 1, general, are you ready ma'am?"

"Lead the way commander!"

General Organa spoke. With the order, Blue Squad lined up in formation and initiated their hyperspace sequence. The blue and white tunnel engulfed Jaycob's ship as he entered the lane, all of his teammates close behind. The lightspeed journey from Outer to Mid Rim wouldn't take long, so none of the pilots tensions eased. Within minutes, they shot back out of the tunnel and hovered toward the green forests of the planet Takodana. All Resistance forces would regroup at  _Nymeve Lake_ and attack  _Maz Kanata's Castle_ , which was heavily overrun with First Order.

 X-Wings skidded over the lake, sending streams of water backwards with their engines. A-Wings hovered above them, starting to secure a perimeter for the transports. Stormtroopers rushed to find quick cover in the rubble of the destroyed castle. They were scared, as they should be. The FO TIE fighters hovered over the castle, bracing for oncoming fire.

"Oh man! Looks like they've started without us!"

Jessika joked.

"Don't worry Jess, there's still plenty FO to eliminate. Just worry about beating my kill count."

Jaycob shot back.

"Go straight at 'em, don't let these dogs scare you!"

Poe announced.

"Copy that."

Jess replied. Followed by another Black Squad pilot's reassurance,

"We're with you Poe! This is for Hosnian!"

 


	3. Chapter 3

Bolts of green and red laser fire streaked across the sky, hitting ships from both sides, sending them crashing into the water. As the fighters weaved through each other to avoid head-on collision, the most skilled pilots flew right into their pursuit angles, lining their crosshairs for another kill. Jaycob and his squad on the other hand, decreased their speed to match that of the transports, avoiding the conflict entirely.

"Watch for debris!"

"Got one on my tail!"

"Shot out!"

The comms channel was going crazy. It seemed like the First Order didn't know what hit them, since there were minimal Resistance casualties so far. The transports behind Blue Squad extended their landing gear and circled around the forest for a clear place to settle down. But as soon as they marked a suitable landing zone, three TIE fighter's skimmed past the transports and circled around for a strafing run. Jaycob saw this and reacted quickly.

"Blues, we have three bogies coming in from the south, across the lake. Take 'em."

"They're finished."

Blue 2 replied, taking a tight pursuit angle against the new squad of FO pilots. He fired two concussion missiles, one landing it's hit, and one missing completely, hitting the castle. Jaycob charged straight at them, barrel-rolling to avoid incoming fire, while simultaneously blanketing his targets with his own fire. The remaining two TIE fighters exploded and smacked the surface of the lake, hard, the only damage to the transports being some splashes of water.

"Had me worried there for a second commander!"

General Organa said.

"Don't worry ma'am, these FO dogs don't stand a chance. Looks like your landing zone is clear, so when you're ready, go ahead."

The general must have heeded Jaycob's words, since after his sentence, all three transports landed. Squads of Resistance ground troops secured the area, scanning for any sign of enemy life left from the air raid. Most of the FO division was retreating farther back toward the castle and into their transports. They were running away.

"Blues, escort mission is a success. Now, take down those First Order transports before they even get off the ground!"

Jaycob commanded, out of pure hatred. The First Order never showed any mercy against Jaycob or the Resistance, so why should he? He thrusted his interceptor past attack-speed and sprayed the enemy transports as they were exiting the mission area. He was able to take down two himself, with his squad taking out three others. While the transports and the rest of the First Order fled the scene, Jaycob and his Blue Squad trailed close behind keeping up the aggression. Poe was infuriated that he was doing this and tried to call him back.

"Blue Leader what the hell do you think you're doing?! Get back here now! They're not the mission!"

He yelled. Blue Squad backed off, but Jaycob didn't. He was dead-set on making sure every single First Order operative involved in this battle would end up dead, their corpses mangled and crushed underneath the rubble of their vehicles. This fight was personal. They took his brother, so he was going to take away their right to live. He was able to take down another transport with a concussion missile before he switched aim to a TIE fighter. He swiftly eliminated his target, causing exploding debris to ricochet and hit another transport. It shot out a trail of fumes before it began to nosedive back down toward the planet's surface. Jaycob followed the crashing ship back down and shot the boarding ramp off the back, sending a pair of unlucky stormtroopers out into the open. In the hold, soldiers were hanging on for dear life to anything that kept them from being jettisoned out of the ship. A devilish smile crept onto Jaycob's lips as he pressed down on his A-Wing weapons system trigger, sending red hot energized particles into the screaming troopers bodies. It was a massacre. Multiple stormtroopers were killed at a time, their corpses flying out the back of the transport. Jaycob's steady stream of fire made it's way past the primary hold and into the cockpit, burning fresh holes into the pilot's back. Only when his blaster cannons overheated did he stop firing, the troop-carrier catching flames only to be extinguished by the water when crashing into the lake. Jaycob looked back up to see if he could deal any more damage to the First Order as they ran, but they were already too far out of range.

"Cowards!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs. He reluctantly flipped his ship around and headed back toward the castle. Black and Blue Squad awaited his return, with Poe practically blowing steam out of his cockpit.

"Jaycob! What were you thinking?!"

Jaycob replied with silence. He felt that what he did was right, and nothing was going to change his mind.

"That was reckless and irresponsible, I should strip you of your rank right now."

Still silence. Jaycob was willing to be kicked out of the Resistance navy if it meant he got to do what he did. Admittedly, he was a little nervous about how Poe was going to react, and his expectations were no short of what was reality. He. Was. Pissed.

"You've never done anything so stupid! You put your feelings before the mission and safety of your teammates, and that is absolutely unacceptable."

Jaycob braced for the worst, exhaling his emotions through his mouth with a sigh.

"But I understand why."

 


	4. Chapter 4

Jaycob would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised at Poe's reaction. Did Poe really know what he was feeling? Did Poe lose one of the only family members he's had left? Jaycob didn't know nor care, but he was happy that Poe was on his side. He knew that his act of rage was in no way justified, but it just felt right. He hated the First Order, extremely, and he thought that by doing this, it'd make him feel better. And it did, sort of.

"The area is clear of any FO presence, Black Leader."

A Black Squad pilot reported.

"Great job everyone. Now get me my droid!"

Poe demanded. The three transports reloaded their crew, this time with three new guests stowed aboard the general's personal carrier. The former Rebellion war hero, Han Solo, his trusty counterpart, Chewbacca, and another person they called, Finn.

(-)

Within minutes, they were back at D'Qar. Jaycob removing his helmet and gloves as he exited his canopy and touched down on the landing platform.

"Welcome back, commander."

 _Jax Anthrop_ , the head engineer greeted, taking Jaycob's belongings from him and placing them on a cart to be sent back to his quarters.

"Thanks, Jax. The general's transports landed before I did, so do you know where I could find her?"

"Yup, I just saw her walk to the conference room."

"Perfect, I'll see you later man."

Jax replied with a two-fingered salute and a smile.

The conference room was abuzz with numerous voices from Resistance ranks celebrating their small, but important, victory. General Organa was in the middle of a conversation with Temmin Wexley, whom the pilots called "Snap", one of the best recon pilots in the navy, and Kaydel Ko Connix, the general's most trusted task manager.

"Commander Flesio, glad to see you made it back in one piece, especially after that little stunt you pulled."

Jaycob scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"About that...sorry ma'am. I-"

"It's alright commander, we can talk about these things later. What is it you needed?"

Before Jaycob could even begin, Poe burst into the room, Finn following close behind.

"General Organa! Sorry to interrupt, but this is Finn, he needs to talk to you."

General Organa directed all her attention from the prior conversation to a new face Jaycob had never seen before on the base.

"And I really need to talk to him."

She reassured.

"That was incredibly brave what you did. Renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life."

She gestured toward Poe. So it was true. Poe was really rescued by this First Order operative. But one question still remained. Why was he here?

"Thank you ma'am, but a friend of mine was taken prisoner."

Finn replied.

"Han told me about the girl. I'm sorry."

Poe cut in, fearing that they were getting too far off-task.

"Finn's familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System, he worked on the base."

Jaycob was surprised as he realized just how valuable this new asset was. Finn might not be like those FO dogs after all.

At the sound of such intriguing news, the general kept her composure, as if she's heard of this sort of thing before. But, it was just her being professional as always.

"We're desperate for anything you can tell us."

"That's where my friend was taken. I've got to get there fast."

"And I will do everything I can to help, but first, you need to tell us all you know."

"Ok, I'll handle that, general. But I really think you should take a look at the data BB-8 has. It's about Luke."

Poe chimed in.

"Of course, thank you Poe. I'll see to it right away..."

The general then turned to Jaycob and said,

"...You'll have to excuse me but, I will definitely get back to you soon, ok? Dismissed."

Jaycob hid his disappointment in his reaction, simply responding with,

"Of course General, I'll get back to you."

She nodded her head and walked to the large holotable behind her, where BB-8  and C-3PO were already waiting. On the other hand, Jaycob exited the conference room and proceeded to his quarters.


	5. Chapter 5

Once more, all necessary crew and pilots were called into the conference room for another briefing. However this time, it was for an attack on  _Starkiller Base_. Jaycob was changed out of his flight suit and in his normal Resistance fatigues, which was the only reason he returned to his quarters in the first place. As his door slid open, Jessika was there yet again, waiting for him.

"Let me guess Jess, you were invited to this briefing too."

Jessika smiled enthusiastically.

"You know it, Hotshot."

Jaycob shook his head, but proceeded to walk to the conference room by her side.

"I don't even understand. No offense or anything Jess, but, you're not even a commander or wingman. How are you getting invited to these high-class briefings?"

Jessika shot him a glare.

"That was _rude_."

She said sarcastically. Jaycob raised his hands in surrender.

"I said 'no offense'!"

"Do you _not_ want me to come to the meeting Jay? Hmmm? Is that it?"

"W-what no, I-I do. I definitely do, it's just that-"

"I'm just messing with you. Poe personally invited me."

"Oh he did now, did he?"

He said flashing a suspicious expression.

"Yes, dummy!"

"Alright Jess, I'm just asking, don't get mad at me."

She rolled her eyes.

"What do you think it'll be about this time?"

She changed the subject.

"Obviously it's going to be about Starkiller. I have a feeling we're going after it today."

"What?! Already? Shouldn't we wait for some help, or for our bombers to even get back before we attack the FO's primary base?"

"Mmm, I don't think so. With the intelligence that Fick, or whatever his name is-"

"Finn."

"-Right, Finn. Well he seems to know a lot about the base, granted he did work on the planet, but I think he might exploit some type of weakness we can use."

"I hope not, I'm not ready for a battle of this magnitude. It's gonna be something we've never experienced before."

"I'm not ready for this either, but, you gotta have faith in our general. Whatever decision she makes, I'm behind it. Besides, I'll have _you_ to cover my back out there."

"You're damn right!"

(-)

"The scan data from Snap's reconnaissance flight confirms Finn's report."

Poe started. Snap Wexley, the one responsible for the confirmation of intelligence, said,

"They've somehow created a hyper-lightspeed weapon within the planet itself."

"A laser cannon?"

Taslin Brance, one of the Resistance majors, asked.

"We're not sure how to describe a weapon of this scale."

Snap replied.

"It's another Death Star."

Caluan Ematt, a lieutenant, asserted.

"I wish that were the case, lieutenant."

Poe denied, pulling up pictures on the holotable.

" _This_ was the Death Star..."

Poe displayed the super-weapon created by the Empire, years ago.

"...and _this_ is Starkiller Base."

Poe displayed the latter, the Death Star being dwarfed as Starkiller Base magnified over it.

"That's almost four or five times the DS's size!"

Jessika whispered to Jaycob. Murmurs of worry and awe filled the room.

"So, it's big."

General Solo silenced the crowd.

"How is it possible to power a weapon of that size?"

Admiral Ackbar, one of the longest-serving Rebel leaders of the Galactic Civil War, questioned.

"It uses the power of the sun. As the weapon is charged, the sun is drained until it disappears."

Finn, who was relatively quiet up to this point, answered. A random officer, whose name Jaycob didn't know, approached General Organa and handed her message. She looked back up at the party, gloomily, and broke the bad news.

"The First Order, they're charging the weapon again now. Our system is the next target."

"Oh my, without the Republic fleet, we're doomed."

C-3PO confirmed. General Solo wasn't having it and shook his head, asking,

"Okay. How do we blow it up? There's always a way to do that."

"Han's right."

General Organa announced, obviously alluding to the Death Star.

"In order for that amount of power to be contained, that base has to have some kind of thermal oscillator."

Admiral U.O. Statura, one of General Organa's second-hand senior officers, explained.

"There is one! Precinct 47."

Finn agreed, moving around the holotable and pointing at a hexagonal structure above Starkiller Base's main weapon.

"If we can destroy that oscillator, it might destabilize the core and cripple the weapon."

Statura related, quickly followed by Ematt adding,

"Maybe even the whole planet!"

Hope was being re-established in the Resistance once again.

"Do we actually stand a chance at destroying this thing? I mean with the fighters we have now, X-Wings and a handful of A-Wings don't seem like they'll do the trick."

Jaycob brought up his point.

"It'll have to, we have no other choice."

Poe responded.

"Now, we'll go in there and we'll hit that oscillator with everything we've got-"

Poe continued. But as morale in the room seemed to go up, it came right back down.

"Ok but, they have defensive shields that our ships cannot penetrate."

Ackbar interrupted. General Solo made a circular motion with his hand.

"We disable the shields."

He hypothesized, then turned his attention to Finn.

"Kid, you worked there. What do you got?"

Finn looked down at the table to contemplate. He sighed, licked his lips, and said,

"I can do it."

Solo smiled and pointed at him.

"I like this guy."

"I can disable the shields, but I have to be there, on the planet."

"We'll get you there."

Solo stated confidently.

"Han, how?"

General Organa asked, clearly in disbelief.

"If I told you, you wouldn't like it."

Jaycob was aware of Solo, and all of the crazy stunts the pilot smuggler was able to do, so he predicted his plan before it even exited his mouth. Solo was going to jump out of hyperspace, dangerously close to the surface, so fast that the shields and sensors wouldn't be able to distinguish the vessel from an asteroid or falling debris.

"Would you need a fighter escort? If you're planning on doing what I think you're doing, you're gonna need some backup. My pilots are more than capable of pulling the maneuver."

Jaycob volunteered. But Solo declined, instead reassuring him,

"It's alright kid. We work better by ourselves anyways."

Jaycob didn't argue. The general's orders stand no matter what.

"So we disable the shields, take out the oscillator, and we blow up their big gun."

Poe simplified the plan for everyone. Chewbacca roared an inaudible battle cry.

"Alright let's go!"

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Before Jaycob could exit the conference room and gear up like all of the other pilots, Poe pulled him aside.

"I was going to wait until we were established a little bit more. But, I think you're ready."

"Ready for?"

Poe stepped aside, revealing a fresh group of new pilots, suited in their olive green A-Wing jumpsuits.

"You've got to be kidding Poe, this isn't the time for jokes."

Jaycob believed this to be just another stunt Poe was pulling on him as a trick.

"Oh I'm not kidding. You're Blue Leader, whether you like it or not. So, meet Blue Squad's newest pilots!"

The newbies were of all different sizes and races, but the one trait that united them all was their fear. Jaycob could see in their eyes that they weren't ready for this type of mission. Granted, Jaycob's idea of the word "newbies" meant that they weren't newly-recruited, but that they've never done anything more than lower-priority recon and aid missions. However, there were some familiar faces in the group that Jaycob would pass as flight-ready. Like Pvt. Maya Emari, one of the best recon pilots, next to Snap Wexley of course, or Pvt. Brooke Gaudium, one of the most agile dogfighters in her class. But no matter how impressive his lineup was, Jaycob only had the mission on his mind.

"Alright newbies, here's the deal. I, like you, had no clue that I was getting a new batch of pilots today, especially since the present circumstances aren't in our favor. Nonetheless, the best way to gain experience is through tasks like these so, all I can really say is, if you stick with me and obey my orders you'll end up alright. And who knows? Maybe, you might be able to add a couple markings onto your ships after you kill some FO."

He said, barely glancing at each individual pilot. Jaycob knew that a lot of the pilots standing there at that moment weren't going to make it back. Starkiller Base's advanced defense weaponry, combined with the new pilots lack of experience was a recipe for disaster. All of the newbies looked at Jaycob, silently appealing to him to give them some words of hope or encouragement, something Jaycob didn't do often. But seeing as how extreme the situation was, he decided to give in.

"I can see the look on all of your faces, I would be scared as kriff if I were in your shoes. But I believe that with skill and precision and the ability to heed to my commands as soon as they are given, all of you can have the chance of making it back here in one piece. Hell, I'll even buy all of you drinks if this goes well, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves."

A few snickers came from the crowd. The newbies were easing up a bit.

"Now as for our attack strategy, I still have yet to converse with Commander Dameron about it. But this is the last straw, this mission will make or break the Resistance. So, who's ready to face our fate?"

Jaycob concluded, a side grin creeping across his mouth.

"We're with you Commander!"

"Let's avenge the New Republic!"

"They'll pay for what they did!"

"Long live the Resistance!"

Murmurs of encouragement escaped some of the newbies' mouths. Jaycob knew that he had to raise the group's morale in some way, and he thought that he was successful. The newbies looked fearless. There was nothing else to do now except dismiss them to their ships and gear up for the bloody fight ahead.

"Good to hear Blues. Now, get ready, we're wheels up in 10."

(-)

When Jaycob tried to approach Poe to go over the plan, Poe just pushed him away, insisting that he'd tell the plan once they were out of D'Qar's atmosphere. He felt that there simply wasn't enough time for a formal flight-procedure briefing. But Jaycob didn't argue.

"Jax! I needed my A-Wing finished yesterday! What's the hold up?"

He asked sarcastically. Jax was still at work tinkering around with Jaycob's A-Wing deflector shields.

"Yes Commander I know, but if you didn't overheat your blaster cannons,  _like I told you_ , we wouldn't be having this problem now would we? Since your cannons exceeded their default power limits, the cooling flush mechanism was damaged. Which means, you're going to run out of juice a lot quicker in your other systems, like your shields."

He explained, pointing to his fusion cutter.

"And how long will this take?"

"I'm not the head engineer of this base for nothing, Hotshot. I'm actually almost finished. You can go on and sit in the cockpit though, your helmet and gloves should be next to my toolbox, over there."

Jax pointed to a cart placed next to the fueling station.

"Oh great, so now I have to get my own gear now?"

Jaycob joked. Jax squinted his eyes.

"I mean if you want to go into Starkiller absolutely defenseless, by all means, I'll fetch your gear for ya."

Jaycob took his gloves first and slipped them on, being cautious to not interfere with his computer gauntlet. He flicked open the cover of the device and set a timer to sync with disappearance of the sun. He didn't want to have to worry about looking at the light of the sun to alert him how close the First Order was to annihilating his entire livelihood. He climbed into his interceptor and sunk into the cockpit. He took his helmet and placed it onto his head, with the visor up.

"Alright, Commander. Looks about finished."

" _About?_ "

"Yes, about. You need to get on out of here if you're gonna save the galaxy."

"You're right about that."

Flicking down his visor and enclosing himself inside his canopy, Jaycob fired up the engines. He wanted to make sure they were warmed up prior to lifting off. Going through his pre-flight checklist, he skipped some prompts that he felt were unnecessary, and activated his communications. Powering on his NavComputer, his Blue Squad roster was displayed on the screen, newbies included. 3D models of the squad's A-Wing interceptors flashed white and blue on the screen, indicating that all units were ready to go. After successfully preparing his engines, he slowly ascended upward until he was at a hover.

 "Blues, welcome to the end."  

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

"Blues, watch each other's backs out there. It's either kill or be killed, and I think my blood is boiling for some revenge."

The squads of Blue and Black, led by Jaycob and Poe, were accelerating in their hyperspace lanes. General Solo, Chewie, and Finn had left before they did in order to disable the base's shield. The strategy was pretty straightforward: Shields go down, we attack the oscillator, the base goes _boom_. That's how simple Poe thought it was anyways. On the other hand, Jaycob took into the account the different variables of each step.

 _Shields go down._ What if Solo and party weren't able to disable them? What if they were captured? What if the First Order knew they were coming?

 _We attack the oscillator._ How can we destroy it? How strong is the material it's made out of? What kind of weapons did the First Order have to protect them from such an invasion?

 _The base goes boom._ What if Finn was wrong? What if the sun drained? What if the First Order won? That would be it.

But there was no time for thoughts like that now. A flight officer back on D'Qar relayed through the fleet's flight comms,

"Black Leader, go to sub-lights on your call."

"Roger that base. Black Squad, Blue Squad, take my lead."

Poe requested control of Jaycob's squad through their NavComputers. Jaycob allowed it and reported in to his pilots.

"Blues, Black Leader is taking the reigns on this one, but my orders still stand. Do as I say, right when I say them."

"Solid copy, Blue Leader."

"Yes sir."

A couple Blue newbies replied. The few seasoned veterans that have survived all of Blue Squad's encounters already knew how this worked. So, they just remained silent, only focused on the fight ahead. Blue and Black dropped out of hyperspace, right outside of Starkiller Base's atmosphere. Even with the briefing prior, the pilots would not have imagined just how enormous the First Order base was. The primary cannon was smoking, barely prepping for another attack. As they passed through the ozone layer, the main target came into view through thick clouds. Rapidly decreasing height from the ground, both squads weaved through the canyons and around the mountainous terrain of the snow-covered planet. Black Squad engaged their S-Foils when Poe announced,

"Almost in range! Hit the target dead center, as many runs as we can get."

Jaycob's predictions were true. The oscillator was protected by turbolasers on top of turbolasers. The familiar blare of the First Order alarm rang loudly through the transparisteel canopy of Jaycob's A-Wing.

"So much for a surprise!"

He commented, as he, along with his squad, trailed Black Squad's corkscrew maneuver and took the oscillator into his crosshairs.

"Alright, let's light it up!"

Poe yelled, firing his first pair of proton torpedoes directly onto the target. The pilots of Black followed suit, releasing their deadly payloads, while Blue Squad backed off, assembling into escorting formations.

"Don't worry about hitting your strafe runs, focus your fire on the turbolasers instead!"

Jaycob ordered, over Poe's command. The fast and agile interceptors Blue Squad was equipped with were in no way equal to their teammates in terms of firepower. Tiny pockets of fire erupted from the oscillator's surface, but did not do nearly enough damage as the fleet originally thought.

"Ha! Direct hit!"

"Yeah but no damage!"

Two Black Squad pilots conversed.

"Yeah, we gotta keep hitting it. Line up another bombing run. Remember, when that sun is gone, the weapon will be ready to fire. But as long as there's light, we got a chance."

Poe encouraged. Jaycob couldn't believe it. It would take hours before they would be able to do any real damage to the oscillator.

"I had a gut feeling these weren't gonna do the trick!"

He replied, alluding to the X-Wings. But before Poe could raise his own argument, a regiment of First Order TIE fighters emerged from behind one of the snow-covered mountains and flew directly opposite of Black Squad's flight path.

"Here comes the parade."

"Guys, we got a lot of company!"

What followed was a deadly joust between TIE's and A-Wings and X-Wings. A couple Black Squad pilots collided with the First Order in mid-air, sending their crippled starfighters, from both sides, into the hard ice below. The skilled pilots of the Resistance and First Order tried to outflank their aggressors, taking tight engagement angles on their opponents.

A bloody battle ensued, the First Order quick in taking out any Resistance pilots going in for another attack run. The pilots of Blue Squad were on their own now, abandoning their escort formations, they mixed between attacking the turbolaser cannons on the ground and the enemy starfighters in the air.

"Blue Leader, I have two on my tail!"

"Blue Leader, can you assist on this firing tower?"

"Blue Leader, I'm in trouble!"

The comms were working overtime, trying to process all the battle chatter the pilots were relaying. Jaycob was able to hear all of his teammates pleas for help, but he was only one man. He couldn't save them all. Pushing his engines to full power, Jaycob engaged a pair of TIE's gaining on a Blue's tail. He took care of them swiftly, then switched focus to a turbolaser that was seconds away from locking onto a Black. The tower exploded, sending flames and debris into the air, which Jaycob flew right through. His fighter remained unscathed, escaping the encounter with only a few burns. Jaycob then fired a pair of concussion missiles into another gun tower, sending it's crew members skyrocketing across the oscillator surface. This went on for what felt like hours.

(-)

"Blue Leader, this is Blue 5, I've almost finished this entire squad of TIE's, but that tower at point nine-four is lighting me up."

Lt. Tallissan Lintra, Blue 5, reported.

"That tower is toast."

Jaycob replied, firing a barrage of laser into the tower's fuel cells, sending a chain reaction of fire all the way up to it's crew.

"Blue Leader, I can't shake this guy!"

Pvt. Maya Emari, Blue 8, reported.

"Copy, I see them. Give me a second!"

Jaycob replied, sending another spread of fire onto the bogey's right wing-panel. The TIE's panel snapped off, making the whole fighter unbalanced, causing it to spiral toward the crust.

"Blue Leader, you've got one behind you!"

Lt. Vayn Conir, Blue 2, alerted him.

"I know I know, it seems like the FO really hate me."

"Yeah, I wonder why."

Jess chimed in. Jaycob smirked, he hadn't heard from his bestfriend in a while.

"Jess, good to see you're still here."

" _Aww_ , it almost sounds like you miss me."

"Ha, yeah I guess."

"But I think they hate you because you're approaching the new kill-record."

"Well would you look at that!"

"Whoa whoa, wait actually, Blue 5 is emerging on that record too."

"Damn, of course she is. She's good I'll give her that."

Jaycob broke up the back-and-forth banter with Jess to look down at his wrist. His timer had  _10 minutes_ across the device screen. 


	8. Chapter 8

"We're overwhelmed! What do we do? It isn't working."

Jessika reported in, worriedly. Everything was straying further and further away from the original plan, the light from the sun basically diminished. Time for the Resistance was running short. But, when it seemed like they were out of hope, one of Black Squad's pilots broke some much-needed good news.

"Black Leader, there's a brand new hole in that oscillator! Looks like our friends got in."

Jaycob turned his head away from the ongoing battle to see for himself, an explosion dead center of the oscillator. He knew that the damage had not come from the X-Wing bombing runs, so it was likely General Solo's team who was able to cripple the base's system from the inside. Jaycob's eyes widened in anticipation.

"Poe, if we're gonna make a move we gotta do it now!"

He pointed out. Poe agreed and called in to his squadmates,

"Black 4, Black 6, cover us."

"I'm on it!"

"Roger!"

"Everybody else, hit the target hard, give it everything you've got!"

Jaycob trailed Black Squad as they made their approach to the disabled oscillator. They were so close. No matter what happened, this was the Resistance's final chance at victory. Out of pure decisiveness, Jaycob figured that he'd command his squad to help with the final strafing run.

"Blues, cover Poe's squadron as they enter the trench! Focus fire on the turbolaser towers and the TIE's, don't let our guys get touched."

"Do we get in the trench with them? I'm not following."

Blue 2 asked.

"No! Stay outside the trench, we have to give them some room to maneuver!"

"But that's suicide! We'll be left uncovered-"

"Do it!"

Jaycob was fed up with how everything had been going so far, and with his squad growing hesitant at his direct orders, his patience was fading.

"Yes sir."

"Copy that."

While the X-Wings fell into the trench, Jaycob's A-Wing squadron skimmed above them. Leading the pack, he was able to swiftly destroy two turbolasers back to back. At first, Blue Squad was holding up well. No casualties so far and the turbolasers were getting destroyed before they could even take aim at a single X-Wing. However, when the TIE's flanked from behind them, everything changed drastically.

"TIE's on our six!"

"Stay in formation, we have to-"

Blue 2 is destroyed.

"Running evasive maneuvers!"

"I can't shake them-"

Blue 9's engines explode, sending the interceptor into the trench walls.

"We're getting hit from both sides!"

"My shields aren't holding!"

"I'm hit! I'm hit-"

Blue 12 explodes, followed by Blue 3 and 4. However, Jaycob ignored the chaos and focused his attention only on the turbolasers. He didn't care what happened next, he just wanted it all to be over. He figured that since this was the last strafe run that the Resistance was able to scavenge, they might as well go all out. Rage completely overwhelmed him, the thoughts of his brother flashing back into his mind.

_If only he were still here._

In the midst of Jaycob's contemplation, a TIE emerged from behind, lining up it's crosshairs directly on the cockpit of the blue and white A-Wing.

"Jaycob, watch it-"

Before the TIE could fire a single bolt, Blue 10 covered Jaycob's interceptor with their own, taking all of the damage and turning into a ball of fire. Blue 11, followed right after and broke formation to engage Jaycob's pursuer. They were successful with the counterattack, but ended up getting gunned down soon after.

" _Blast!_ "

Jaycob cursed. The deaths of Blue Squad were tallying up and it was all his fault. But instead of beating himself up for it, he got revenge. Breaking formation, Jaycob looped over the flanking squad of TIE fighters, spraying fire among them. The four FO pilots the squad consisted of, tried to shake him off, but it was already too late. One by one, the debris from the TIE's came raining down onto the trench, smashing into the walls, and some colliding with more turbolasers. Blue Squad was decently safe, for now.

"All teams, I'm going into the oscillator! Cover me!"

Poe ordered.

"On it, Black Leader."

"Roger."

"Good luck, Poe."

"Wait Poe, are you sure about this?"

Jessika's voice overcame the others. She sounded scared, knowing that her commanding officer was likely flying into death itself.

"Mmmm, not really."

He replied, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"Just, be careful."

Jessika warned as she backed off from the trench with the rest of Black Squad. Jaycob ordered his squad to disengage too, as he took another look at his wrist.

_30 seconds_

There was nothing else that they could do now. The entire Resistance rested one pilot's hands. Jaycob would never know what went down exactly inside the depths of that thermal oscillator, but whatever Poe did, it worked. Before the thirty-second timer reached zero, he emerged from the flames and rocketed into the air.

"Holy sh-"

The thermal oscillator ruptured, internally exploding, then forcing it's flames out of the surface. The flames reached toward the sky, engulfing the entire air space around it. The Resistance fleet was lucky enough to evade the sudden explosion, banking wide left and accelerating past attack speed to escape the starfighter barbecue. Pretty soon, pockets of craters began appearing all along the surface of the planet, sending snow upward then back down. All remaining First Order pilots high-tailed it backwards to try to re-stabilize the base, but the collapse of the planet had already begun.

"All personnel, report to the nearest transport immediately. This planet is on the verge of certain destruction."

Jaycob could hear through the FO base-wide intercoms. There was only one objective they had to complete before they could return to D'Qar, retrieve General Solo and his team. It did not take long though, the _Millennium Falcon_ appearing on all Resistance pilots' NavComputers as it left Starkiller Base's atmosphere.

"All teams, I have eyes on 'em!"

Poe reported gleefully.

"Yes!"

Snap cheered, as the planet imploded behind them.

"Our job's done here, let's go home!"


End file.
